POWER OF UNITY

Maharaja Yudhisthira Requested, "My Dear Grandfather, Please Tell Me What Should Be Done When One Is Attacked Not Only By His Numerous Enemies, But By Those That Were Supposed To Have Been His Friends As Well."

Bhishma Replied, "My Dear King, It Is Due To Time And Circumstances And Nothing Else That One Becomes A Friend Or Foe. A Person Who Acts With This Understanding By Sometimes Quarreling With So-Called Friends And Sometimes Making Peace With So-Called Enemies, Is Far Superior To One Who Can Simply Foresee Danger Or Has Presence Of Mind. To Illustrate This Point, I Will Tell You Another Very Interesting Story."

There Was A Great Banyan Tree Standing In The Midst Of A Vast Forest That Was The Resort Of Many Animals. A Wise Mouse Named Palita Lived At The Base Of The Tree, In A Hole That Had One Hundred Outlets. A Cat Named Lomasa Lived In The Branches, And Every Day He Would Devour Many Birds That Came To The Banyan Tree To Rest.

One Day, A Chandala Hunter Named Parigha Arrived At The Forest And Constructed A Cottage. Every Evening After Sunset, The Hunter Spread His Net Beneath The Banyan Tree And Returned Home To Sleep. During The Night, Many Animals Would Fall Into The Trap. Each Morning, The Hunter Came At Dawn To Take Them.

One Night, In A Moment Of Carelessness, Lomasa The Cat Fell Into The Hunter's Net. Seeing That His Enemy Was Trapped, Palita The Mouse Fearlessly Came Out Of His Hole And Began Roaming About In Search Of Food.

The Mouse Spotted A Piece Of Meat That Had Left By The Hunter As Bait. After Climbing On Top Of The Net, He Began To Happily Eat It. Indeed, The Playful Mouse Became So Bold That He Jumped Onto The Entangled Cat And Continued Eating The Meat While Laughing Mischievously. Having Become Too Absorbed In His Antics, However, The Mouse Failed To See The Great Danger That Had Befallen Him, Until Suddenly He Looked Up And Saw His Fierce Enemy, Harita The Mongoose, In Front Of Him.

Having Been Allured By The Scent Of The Mouse, Harita Stood On His Haunches, Ready To Pounce. He Was Licking The Corners Of His Mouth In Great Expectation. While Frantically Looking Around For A Means Of Escape, Palita Noticed Another Enemy, Chandraka The Sharp-Beaked Owl, Sitting On A Branch Of The Tree.

Overwhelmed By Great Fear, Palita Thought: "Oh! What Can I Do To Save My Life? If I Run Down From The Net, The Mongoose Will Surely Catch Me. And, If I Remain Here, The Owl Will Swoop Down And Seize Me. Still, I Know That If An Intelligent Person Keeps His Wits About Him, And If He Is Conversant With The Science Of Diplomacy, He Will Never Meet With Destruction, No Matter How Grave The Danger. According To My Understanding Of Diplomacy- It Seems That The Cat Lomasa Is My Only Refuge, Despite His Being My Enemy. In Danger, One Must Sometimes Make Peace With A Stronger Enemy. For This Reason, It Is Better To Have A Learned Person As One's Enemy Than A Fool For A Friend!"

Having Made This Decision, The Mouse Spoke To The Cat: "Lomasa, Please Listen To Me, For I Am Trying To Say Something That Is For Your Self-Interest."

"My Dear Friend, If You Desire Your Own Welfare, In This Dangerous Situation You Should Also Look After Mine. I Promise To Rescue You From The Hunter's Net If In Return, You Vow Not To Kill Me. Just See How The Mongoose And Owl Are Intently Waiting To Devour Me! I Will Free You From Your Bondage By Eating The Strings Of The Net, If In Return You Protect Me From My Two Enemies. Just Consider How A Man Takes Help From A Dry Piece Of Wood To Cross A River. By Doing So, The Man Carries The Wood To The Other Side, Just As Much As The Wood Carries The Man. A Learned Person Never Applauds An Endeavour Once The Opportunity For Executing It Has Passed. Let Us Unite In Friendship At Once For Our Mutual Benefit."

The Intelligent And Eloquent Cat Had Good Foresight, And So He Replied, "My Dear Palita, You Have Spoken Very Well. I Wholeheartedly Agree To Become Your True Friend. Rest Assured That If You Rescue Me From This Danger, I Will Not Only Save You From Your Present Precarious Position, But Will Remain Eternally Grateful To You As Well. I Will Serve You Always, Just Like A Humble Disciple."

The Mouse Said, "Lomasa, Here Is My Plan. I Will Squat Underneath Your Belly. When My Enemies Depart Out Of Frustration, I Will Eat Through The Strings Of The Net To Release You."

Lomasa Replied, "Palita, Your Idea Is Excellent! Please Come Underneath Me Quickly And Rest Assured That After My Escape I And All Of My Relatives Will Serve You Forever After. Of Course, Our Services Will Never Be Able To Compensate For What You Have Done. After All, The Service That Is First Rendered Is Considered To Be Unmotivated, Whereas Service Done In Return Is A Kind Of Repayment."

After Hearing These Flowery Words, Palita The Mouse Came And Crouched Underneath Lomasa The Cat. When They Saw This Extraordinary Turn Of Events, The Mongoose And Owl Were Astonished And Became Completely Hopeless Of Catching Their Prey. They Knew That It Would Be Impossible To Create Dissension Between The Cat And The Mouse, Because Of Their Mutually-Beneficial Treaty, And So The Mongoose And Owl Left That Place Disappointed.

Thereafter, Palita Began Cutting The Strings Of The Net Very Slowly With His Teeth, Waiting For The Proper Time To Complete His Work. But, When He Saw How Slowly The Mouse Was Working, The Cat Became Very Impatient. He Fervently Implored, "My Dear Palita, Please Work Faster! Do Not Neglect Me Now That Your Object Has Been Achieved!"

The Mouse Replied, "My Dear Lomasa, Kindly Wait Silently. Rest Assured That I Will Free You At The Proper Moment. Work That Is Accomplished At The Wrong Time Is Rendered Unprofitable. If I Were To Release You Prematurely, I Would Be Putting Myself Into Great Danger. Therefore, I Will Only Free You When We See The Hunter Approaching. At That Time, Your Only Thought Will Be How To Quickly Jump Into The Tree. Thus, I Will Be Free To Enter My Hole Safely."

At This, The Cat Said, "Palita, Please Consider How I Executed My Part Of The Bargain Quickly, For That Is The Behavior Of A True Friend. If You Do Not Trust Me Because Of Our Former Enmity, I Beg Your Forgiveness And Request You To Give Me This Chance To Prove My Sincerity."

The Mouse Replied, "Lomasa, I Fully Understand All That You Have Said, And It Is In Accordance With Your Self-Interest. Now, Please Listen To Me As I Speak That Which Is In Line With My Own Welfare. Friendship That Exists Due To A Condition Of Fear Must Be Watched Over Very Cautiously. If, Out Of Fear, A Person Makes An Alliance With A Stronger Person And Then Becomes Inattentive, He Will Certainly Come To Be Injured Rather Than Benefited By His Friend."

"My Dear Cat, No One Is Intrinsically One's Friend, Enemy Or Well-Wisher. A Person Becomes One Of These, Being Impelled By A Particular Motive. When Friendship Is Thus Established, One Treats His Friend Very Respectfully In The Hopes Of Achieving His Desired Ends. But, After One's Purpose Has Been Fulfilled, His So-Called Friend Is Not Given The Same Regard. For This Reason, When One Is Befriended Due To A Motive, He Should Act In Such A Way That His Friend's Object Never Becomes Completely Fulfilled. Lomasa, Just See How There Is Only One More String That Continues To Bind You."

As The Dawning Light Of Morning Became Visible, A Great Fear Entered The Cat's Heart. Then, When The Chandala Hunter Parigha Came Upon The Scene, Surrounded By His Pack Of Yelping Dogs, The Cat Panicked. Just At That Moment, The Mouse Cut The Last String. As Lomasa Madly Jumped Into The Tree, Palita Hurriedly Entered His Hole. When The Hunter Saw This, He Experienced The Pang Of Sorrow That One Feels Upon The Frustration Of His Hopes. After Angrily Picking Up His Damaged Net, Parigha Returned Home Disappointed.

Having Sufficiently Relished The Great Relief And Joy That One Feels After Finding That His Life Has Been Saved From The Jaws Of Death, The Cat Called Down To The Mouse, Who Was Staying Within His Hole.

Lomasa Said, "My Dear Friend, Why Have You Run Away Without Even Having The Courtesy To Exchange Parting Words? I Hope That You Do Not Suspiciously Think That I Have Any Evil Intentions! Because Our Friendship Has Been Firmly Established, Come Out Of Your Hole So That We Can Savor The Sweetness Of Fraternal Love. Only Wicked Persons Make Friendship And Break It Later On. I Am Not Like That! Because You Have Saved My Life, I Will Remain Eternally Grateful To You. Indeed, I Will Worship You Just Like A Guru, Along With All Of My Friends And Relatives. From Now On, Please Consider My House And All Of My Possessions To Be You Very Own."

After Hearing This Grandiose Speech, The Mouse, Being Well Aware Of His Self-Interest, Replied In Similarly Sweet Words: "My Dear Cat, According To Learned Authorities, Friends And Enemies Should Be Very Carefully Examined. To Discriminate Between The Two Requires Acute Intelligence! Sometimes, Friends Appear To Be More Like Enemies, And Sometimes, Enemies Act In A Very Friendly Manner. When A Friendship Has Been Contracted, It Is Very Difficult To Determine Whether That Relationship Has Been Established For Good Purposes- Or Out Of Lust, Anger Or Greed."

"Lomasa, In Actuality, No One Is Intrinsically One's Friend Or Enemy. Enmity And Love Are Created According To The Circumstances. When One Sees That His Welfare Is Dependent Upon Another, He Regards That Person As A Friend And Considers Him As Such For As Long As Their Self-Interests Do Not Clash. Because Of This, There Is No Such Thing As Permanent Friendship Or Enmity. In Fact, One Inevitably Transforms Into The Other In Due Course Of Time. Therefore, One Should Never Implicitly Place His Trust In His Friends Without Having First Adjusted Conditions According To The Science Of Diplomacy."

"One Who Desires To Have An Affectionate Relationship With Another Person, Without Considering That He Must Act Diplomatically, Should Be Considered A First-Class Fool. Even If A Person Is Genuinely Deserving Of Trust, He Should Never Be Relied Upon Implicitly. What To Speak Of Others, One's Near And Dear Relatives Are Acting In That Relationship Out Of Self-Interest Or Motive."

"My Dear Lomasa, Everyone Considers His Own Self First. Even Though You Have Assured Me With Very Sweet Words That I Am Very Dear To You, I Can Understand With The Eye Of Knowledge That There Must Be Some Motive Behind Your Eloquent Speech. Even The Love Between Husband And Wife, Or Two Brothers, Is Created Due To Some Adequate Cause. Of Course, Because Of Natural Affection, A Husband And Wife Or Two Brothers May Reunite After Quarreling. But, Our Relationship Cannot Be Considered To Be Like That. Still, There Are Instances Where A Person Is Endearing Because Of His Virtuous Nature, Eloquent Speech, Liberality, Or Other Attractive Qualities. Generally Speaking, However, A Person Is Considered Dear Simply Because Of The Purpose That He Serves."

"Lomasa, The Original Cause Of Our Friendship No Longer Exists. Therefore, I Can Understand That Your Present Expression Of Friendship Must Be Due To Some Other Motive. Perhaps You Desire To Make Me Your Prey And Eat Me! You Stupid Cat! Why Are You Talking To Me As If I Were A Fool That Is Ignorant Of His Self-Interest? I Know That Cats Are By Nature The Enemies Of Mice. I Refuse Your So-Called Offer Of Friendship!"

After Thus Being Rebuked With Strong Words, The Cat Blushed With Shame. But Still, After A Short Pause, He Said, "My Dear Palita, You Have Got Me All Wrong! I Am Genuinely Grateful For Your Having Saved My Life And So I Deserve To Be Trusted."

After Reflecting Over This For Awhile, The Mouse Replied, "Lomasa, I Accept Your Words As Genuine. I Actually Believe That Your Intentions Are Noble. And Yet, I Will Never Be Able To Repose My Trust In You. The Wise Have Instructed That When A Weaker Person Makes An Alliance With A Stronger One, To Serve Some Mutual Purpose, He Should Not Continue To Repose His Trust In That Friend After The Objective Has Been Achieved."

"Actually, The Most Important Principle Expounded By The Science Of Diplomacy Is Mistrust. Of Course, One Should Always Try His Best To Inspire Confidence In Others. But, At The Same Time, One Should Always Mistrust His Enemies, For If He Does So, No Matter How Weak He May Be, They Will Never Be Able To Bring Him Under Their Control. My Dear Cat, I Will Never Repose My Confidence Upon You. Similarly, I Advise You To Be Very Careful Of The Chandala Hunter, For His Anger Has Been Aroused."

As Soon As The Mouse Mentioned The Hunter, The Cat Became So Afraid That He Immediately Ran Away From The Banyan Tree So That He Could Reside Elsewhere. His Mission Having Thus Been Accomplished, Palita The Mouse Happily Re-Entered His Hole.